Insulator bracket



May 13 19?.4o I 1,494.923

C. A. ROLFE INSULATOR BRACKET Filed March 13 1920 Patented May 13, 1924.

UNITED STATES CHARLES A. BOLI'E, 0] BEDLAN'DS, CALIFORNIA.

INSULATOB BRACKET.

Application filed larch 18, 1920. Serial 170. 385,488.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES A. Rom-n, a citizen of the United States, residin at Redlands, in the county of San Bernar ino, State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Insulator Brackets, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to insulator brackets and specifically insulator brackets for mounting insulators on cross arms of poles. It is an object of the invention to rovide a simple, inexpensive and effective racket for mounting insulators on cross arms after they have fallen off of their original pin mountings.

It is common and well known practice in stringing telephone and telegraph wires, etc., to mount insulators on the ends of wooden pins which extend vertically through and project above and below thesole cross arms. The end portions of the pins are externally screw threaded to engage internal screw threads formed in the insulators. In practice this manner of mounting insulators is effective as far as the up er insulators are concerned but is not a together effective in holding the lower insulators, or those insulators which are below the cross arm and on the lower ends of the pins. Not infrequently does severe weather, or the weight of the wires carried by the insulators, etc., cause the lower insulators to drop from the pins leaving the threads on the pins stripped or badly injured. It is for remounting fallen lower insulators that the bracket provided by the present invention is particularly adapted.

Although I herein set forth the invention in connection with a very common form of insulator and set forth a specificapplication of the invention it will be understood that the invention is not in any way limited or restricted to such application or for mounting this specific form of insulator but that it may be advantageously used in connection with various sizes, designs, or types of insulators and under various circumstances or conditions.

A particular and noteworthy feature of the invention is its simplicity of construction. The bracket may be made from standard stock, or material, and requires no complicated or expensive processes of manufacture.

A further feature of the bracket is the ease with which it may be installed and its efi'ectiveness after installation. These features of the invention are particularly important as they make the device of practical and commercial value.

Further ob'ects and features of the invention will e best understood from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention throughout which reference is had to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the upper portion of a pole, showing the application of the bracket provided by the resent invention; Fig. 2 is an enlarge sectional view taken as indicated by line 22 on Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a. side' elevation of the lower portion of the bracket showing an insulator in place, being a view taken as indicated by line 3-3 on Fi 2; and Fig. 4 is a view of the lower portion of the bracket showing it before the insulator is placed on it.

Throughout the drawings numeral designates a pole having a cross arm 11 secured to it by suitable bolts 12 and braced b suitable brace members 13. The particular pole and cross arm herein set forth are made of wood and are merely set forth for the purpose of illustrating the general character of construction in connection with which the bracket, provided by the present invention, can be used. It will be understood that the invention is not limited to use in connection with poles and cross arms of this particular construction and material but that it may be used in connection with poles and cross arms of metal, concrete, or any other suitable material, without in any way effecting or changing its scope.

In the particular arrangement illustrated in the drawings insulators 14 carrying wires 15 are arranged above the cross. arm 11 while insulators 16 carrying wires 17 are arranged below the cross arm 11. The insulators 14 and 16 are mounted or carried on the screw threaded ends of wooden pegs 18 which extend vertically through the cross arm 11 and project above and below it.

For the purpose of illustration I have shown two of the lower insulators removed or displaced from the pins and mounted on brackets 20 provided b the present invention. Each of the brac ets 20 being the same I will roceed to describe one of them in detail it eing understood that such description is applicable to both of the brackets 20. The bracket 20 comprises, as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, a vertical body portion 21 the lower portion of which extends considerably below the cross arm 11 and from the top of which extends a horizontal arm 22 at the outer end of which is a downwardly extending projection 23. It will be readily understood how the upper portion of the bracket being constructed in this manner forms a hook that may be hooked over the cross arm 11 so that the arm 22 en ages the top of the cross arm while the ody portion 21 and the downwardly extending projection 23 engage the sides of the cross arm 11. In practice, the horizontal arm 22 and the downwardly extending projection 23 are so proportioned as to accurately fit the particular cross arm on which the bracket is to be mounted. It will be readily understood that the hook formed at the top of the bracket by the arm 22 and the projection 23 mabe varied in size and shape to conform with the cross sectional configuration of the cross arm 11 on which the bracket is to be mounted; and that the invention is not limited to being mounted on a cross arm of the particular configuration shown in the drawings.

The bracket 20 when hooked over the cross arm 11 may be secured or attached to the cross arm in any suitable manner. For instance, suitable nails 25 may be arranged to extend through holes 26 in the body ortion 21 and into the cross arm, as cleary illustrated in the drawings. In practice, when the bracket is made to accurately, or fairly accurately, fit the cross arm two ordinary nails, 25 of the character shown in the drawings, are sufiicient to firmly and securely hold the bracket on the cross arm. It will be understood that the nails 25 merely have to hold the bracket against being lifted off of the the cross arm or moved longitudinally on the cross arm and that the insulator and Wire are supported by the hook, at the top of the bracket, being arranged over the top of the cross arm.

The lower portion of the body 21, of the bracket 20, carries the insulator 16 and it will be understood that the length of the body portion 21, or the amount that the bracket extends below the cross arm 11 depends largely upon the length of the peg on which the insulator was previously mounted and the size of the insulator. The body portion 21 extends through the aperture 30 in the insulator 16 and the two prongs 31,

formed at the bottom of the body 21 by its being slotted at 32, are bent outwardly in opposite directions to prevent removal of the insulator 16 from the bracket. Fig. 4

of the drawings shows the bracket before the insulator is placed on it and clearly illustrates the manner in which the lower portion of the body 21 is slotted to form the prongs 31. It will be readily understood from Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings how the prongs 31. thus formed are bent in opposite directions to positively prevent removal of the insulator from the bracket. In practice, the slot 32 in the end of the body 21 is sufliciently long or deep to form prongs 31 which, when bent as shown in Fig. 2, make it impossible to remove the insulator from the bracket.

To install the bracket 20 it is preferred that it be hooked over the cross arm at the proper point and secured by the nails 25 while the prongs are extending straight downwardly, or while the prongs are arranged as shown in Fig. 4. When the bracket is properly secured to the cross arm the insulator may be placed on the lower portion of the body and the prongs bent or turned outwardly to prevent its displacement therefrom. Another method of installation that may be employed comprises the placing of the insulator on the body, and turning the prongs to secure the insulator on the body, and then installin the bracket in place on the cross arm. egardless of the manner employed to mount the insulator on the cross arm it is not necessary to rotate -it, the only necessary manipulation of the insulator being that of sliding it onto the lower portion of the bracket.

It will be readily understood how insulators of various sizes and configurations may be effectively carried on the brackets 20 and how the brackets may be varied in size and pro ortion to suit particular requirements. urther, it will be understood that the. bracket 20 may be finished or treated in any suitable manner to prevent corrosion, etc., although it is preferred that it be galvanized as such manner of finishing is 'particularly effective and is inexpensive.

Having set forth a preferred embodiment of my invention I do not wish to limit or restrict myself to the particular details ing vertically disposed body provided with a split lower end, said end forming outwardly extending flanges, the upper end of said body terminating in a substantially inverted U-shaped hook member, and an insulator engaging said body and supported by said flanges.

1 flanges and means adapted to extend through said body and engage the side of said cross arm for maintaining the bracket in position.

In witness that I claim the foregoin I have hereunto subscribed my name this fi th day of March, 1920.

CHARLES A. ROLFE.

Witnesses:

B. D. Smnxwmrmm, J. H. Lmm. 

